THE 'Race, Stay, Play' magazine is being delivered in the Hunter and New England regions this week.

The magazine promoting the 2012 Akubra Kempsey Cup will be inserted into copies of paid newspapers and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of readers.

It was produced with combined funding from Destination NSW, Kempsey Shire Council, the Macleay Valley Coast Tourism Association and local tourism operators.

The eight-page glossy magazine invites people to attend the 2012 Akubra Kempsey Cup on Friday, November 9 and stay the weekend to enjoy the attractions of the Macleay Valley.

The magazine is being inserted into Fairfax newspapers in Singleton, Scone, Muswellbrook, Maitland, Gloucester, Dungog, Tamworth, Walcha and Armidale.

The promoters hope the campaign will give a welcome boost to the local economy as well as help build the event’s popularity for future years.

Supporting the magazine is a dedicated website, racestayplay.com.au which features a locally produced video promoting the event, as well as links to Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.

Kempsey Shire Council's Economic Sustainability manager Susannah Smith said the Kempsey Cup could play an important part in Kempsey’s future.

“This weekend has the potential to be huge for the Macleay,” she said

“Nothing says Australia like Akubra, and Australians love an excuse to hit the race track, so we’re hoping this campaign attracts a whole new market segment in addition to our traditional families market.”

The campaign has the full support of the Macleay Valley Coast Tourism Association and tourism operators throughout the Macleay including South West Rocks and Crescent Head.

“There is great scope for our retailers to also get on board to showcase what our business communities have to offer during the race day weekend,” Ms Smith said.

Ms Smith said other venues were planning to take advantage of the weekend.

“It’s great to see our pubs and clubs planning ahead to provide quality entertainment on the Saturday night to make sure visitors have lots of choice about where to go and what to do,” she said.

“Shops could participate by dressing up their windows and staff in a race day theme, and extending their trading hours,”

“This is an ongoing promotion, so as we get closer to race day, we will be sending out new messages and updates about what will be happening over the Race, Stay and Play weekend.”